A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF YOUTH SPORT PARTICIPATION AND ADHERENCE TO SPORT IN ADULTHOOD

Abstract

Youth sport programmes are often legitimized on their assumed contribution to continued sport involvement in adulthood. A longitudinal analysis was made of the sport involvement pattern of a sample ( N = 236) of male subjects from 13 to 35 years of age, from a perspective of continued socialization into sport. The results of the quantitative analysis show that the continuation of sport participation from youth into adulthood is different according to the type of youth sport career. Tracking of sport participation patterns is moderate to high during youth, and low to moderate from youth to adulthood. Methodological issues are raised. It is concluded that youth sport programmes should be critically examined with regard to their contribution to continued sport participation in adulthood.